Colors
by Golden Keyblade
Summary: Just a series of oneshots detailing Olimar encountering my Pikmin ideas. Don't accuse me of copying Deadly Raptor; he gave me permission personally. Chapter 4 is my shortest so far, but for some reason it feels longer.
1. Chapter 1: Green

**Colors **

Chapter 1: Green 

Olimar and his collection of Pikmin trudged across the swamp. They had been searching for treasure for half of the day, but with no luck. Louie was back at the ship eating. He did that quite a lot.

They came to yet another mud puddle; there seemed to be thousands of these in the swamp. Olimar looked back to his Pikmin once again, as if he would suddenly figure out a way to cross them. His swarm was made up of every color of Pikmin known: 15 reds, 15 yellows, 15 blues, 5 purples, and 10 whites. But not even the poison-resistant whites had a chance against this sludge, which slowly dissolved every Pikmin that entered it.

Olimar sighed. This was particularly frustrating in this case, as he could clearly see a treasure (a large golden band with a diamond set into the top) floating on top of the mud not far away. But no Pikmin could reach it, so he decided it would be best to just leave.

He was turning to leave when he noticed a clearing in the trees not too far away. He walked over to see what was in it...and what he saw took his breath away.

The clearing was fairly large. There were a few Pellet Posies lining the edges, with both 1 and 5 pellets as well as a couple 10s and a 20. The clearing was filled with all sorts of sounds from the swamp outside. But Olimar didn't care about any of that. All he could focus on was the object that sat in the center of the clearing.

It was a Green Onion.

Olimar walked forward reverently. He had never seen an Onion this color before, even when the ship was in orbit around the Distant Planet and the Onions lifted into the sky from all over the planet's six continents. It looked like most other Onions, with a large bulbous central chamber with an odd propeller-like flower on top and three "stilts" to keep it off the ground. Strangely it seemed as if this Onion already had been activated; had Louie been here?

As Olimar walked forward, the Onion suddenly shot a single seed from its top. Olimar walked forward toward the spot where it had fallen. After a moment, a sprout appeared where the seed had fallen: a green leaf at the tip of a bright green stem.

Olimar began to approach when he stopped. For some reason this particular stem had two leaves growing from it, rather than one. This was indeed unusual...

Olimar shrugged. There was no time to worry about it. He gave the stem a tug and the Pikmin below was revealed.

The green Pikmin was similar in shape to a red Pikmin but without the nose. Instead, it had a second leaf on top of its stem and what appeared to be tiny claws on its hands. Its eyes looked up at Olimar in surprise; it clearly hadn't seen anything like him before.

Olimar began to have the green break down the Pellet Posies around the clearing, aided by the other colors; it was only now that Olimar realized that they were Green Pellets. Soon Olimar had gone from just one green Pikmin to thirty.

The ship's sensors were going crazy. "Incredible!" the voice exclaimed in Olimar's helmet. "This new Pikmin has strange properties! Its molecular structure seems to be able to be highly durable, indicating it may be able to endure in conditions which other Pikmin cannot. Its dual leaves seem to also indicate some kinds of abilities which are related to plants in some way..."

Olimar was no longer listening. He was focused on the ship's earlier statement. These Pikmin could survive where others couldn't? Could that mean...no, it was just too much to hope for.

Still, Olimar had to try. He whistled to call together all the Pikmin, including the new greens. He picked up a green Pikmin, carried it out of the clearing, and took it back to the large mud puddle with the treasure. Figuring he had to give it at least a shot, he threw the Pikmin into the puddle.

He expected the green Pikmin to dissolve like the rest, but instead it stood there wondering what it should do. The other Pikmin stood there watching the green back.

Olimar smiled. His problem was solved.

* * *

Green Pikmin are a Standard Species of Pikmin; this is a complicated way of saying they live in an Onion like red, blue, and yellow Pikmin. Their natural species immunity is mud, a substance found commonly in rainy areas. Puddles of mud function much like water except that Pikmin tend to get stuck in them as they slowly dissolve, making it almost a definite kill. Not only are greens unfazed by mud, but they also don't get stuck in the sludge, which means they are highly effective at getting treasures out of it.

The greens also have another unique power: climbing! Green Pikmin have the power to climb up vines or walls of ivy. This allows them to access new areas which Pikmin of other species cannot, both by climbing up walls of ivy and by swinging across gaps to build bridges for other Pikmin. This makes greens quite valuable for your team.

Fun Facts:

- Originally green Pikmin were going to have their notable feature be a larger leaf, but I figured this wouldn't really be enough of a difference to count.

- Mud was originally going to be instant-kill, but changed it when I realized that feature would be more suitable for lava or magma. To keep mud from being just a repeat of water, I made Pikmin get stuck in it and slowly dissolve, thus making it harder to escape.

- The Green Onion was already activated as part of a story I will be adding in a series of oneshots which I will probably publish, at my current rate, just before the Sun goes out.

- Green Pikmin also have better AI than other Pikmin, but I don't know why.

- When I first published this I made a mistake in the early story saying that normal Pikmin dissolved and then later said they drowned instead. Let's say that they dissolve, but it takes a while so they have a chance to escape. Sorry about any confusion.


	2. Chapter 2: Orange

Chapter 2: Orange 

The cave system was sweltering. The bubble of pools of lava echoed throughout the chambers. Olimar led a team of fifty Pikmin through the cavern. He had previously had a team of eighty, but several had been killed off by exploding bomb-rocks or lava. The only ones which remained largely unscathed were reds, though one red leaf (who in the name of tradition Olimar had retroactively named Steve) got the bright idea of wanting to carry a bomb-rock. It did not end well at all.

Olimar was beginning to think that going into the Fire Ravines (the name Olimar had given this cave) had been an extremely bad idea. He was about to call his Pikmin back to the ship to perform an emergency exit when he and the fifty Pikmin came around a corner and saw it.

It was an Amber Candypop Bud.

The flower was a delicate orange color, but other than that it was exactly the same as the other kinds of Candypop Buds Olimar had encountered. The Pikmin were crowding around the bud, silently begging to be thrown in. Carefully considering his options, Olimar picked up five blue Pikmin and tossed them into the center of the bud.

Quickly the bud closed up...and then, after a moment, five seeds shot into the air and landed on the ground beside the bud, which quickly withered and died. Olimar, without a second thought, plucked the five seeds to reveal...

...some orange Pikmin!

The orange Pikmin looked a bit like the purples, since they were rather muscular, though significantly less so than purples. The oranges were taller than most other Pikmin; in addition, their arms were somewhat longer than others. But by far the strangest thing about them was their leaf; instead of being green, the leaf was a brittle brown with some kind of black scorch mark on one side.

The ship's sensors went crazy. "This is fascinating!" it exclaimed. "These orange Pikmin appear to have incredibly fire-proof skin, even more so than red Pikmin!" It paused in this description. "Wait," he said quietly. "I'm sensing some kind of anomaly. I will quickly identify it..."

Suddenly there was a noise, and bomb-rocks fell from the ceiling. Olimar, trying to refrain from panicking, gave a short whistle to tell his Pikmin to follow him away from the rocks. However, the oranges apparently interpreted this as a command, and ran over to the bomb-rocks.

"Wait, don't-!" began Olimar, but then he froze.

The oranges were lifting the bomb-rocks.

* * *

Were you expecting a stench-resistant Pikmin or some variation of that theme?

The orange Pikmin can only be spawned from Amber Candypop Buds, which can be found in all caverns but are most common in caves with lava. The orange Pikmin do an above-average amount of damage; in terms of weight they are about halfway between reds and purples, with the same strength as five normal Pikmin. This means that if you want to carry back a treasure but you're fighting a boss, and you don't want to give up large troops or the advantage of your purples, the oranges can be dispatched to carry the treasure. However, oranges also have much more useful abilities.

First, the oranges take the place of the _Pikmin 1_ brand yellow Pikmin in that they can carry bomb-rocks. But they are even BETTER than the yellows since they are partially immune to explosions! What does that mean? It means that if an orange Pikmin doesn't escape a blast in time, the blast only has a 50% chance of killing them! Half the time they will be completely unscathed! This means they can be sent in to get treasures that seem like they might be trapped.

But wait, there's more! Since they can only survive an explosion half the time, orange Pikmin also have to have an actual full immunity: lava! This may seem strange, since an orange Pikmin will burn in fire just like other non-reds, but take my word for it: lava, which usually insta-kills Pikmin, will do nothing to oranges! They are quite useful.

Since orange Pikmin are a Candypop Species, they do not have an Onion and instead live in the ship.

* * *

Fun Facts:

- Orange Pikmin are the one species I feel I may have made overpowered.

- The joke about stench-immune Pikmin was a reference to Deadly Raptor's idea for orange Pikmin. Now, I don't think this is a bad idea; I just think it would work better for a different species. It was also a reference to DR's apparent contempt for people who give Cyan Pikmin an ice immunity.

- Orange Pikmin were originally going to be completely explosion-resistant, but I decided that would kind of break the whole trap mechanism, and other than that, bomb-rock use isn't that dangerous.

- The name "Amber Candypop Bud" arises from my frustration that the third tablet in _LoZ: Skyward Sword_ is called the Amber Tablet. I still think they should've had a water based world and made the Sapphire Tablet.

- Like mud, lava seemed a bit like a repeat of water, so I decided to make it insta-kill. Deal with it.

- Steve the red leaf Pikmin is a reference to Chuggaaconroy's famous LP of _Pikmin_; sadly, the joke died before the _Pikmin 2_ LP.

- I accidentally made it seem like these overshadow Red Pikmin. They don't: it was a typo. For some reason (don't question my version of Nintendo logic), Orange Pikmin are only immune to lava, and still are vulnerable to normal fire. Therefore Red Pikmin are still useful. I feel bad about the confusion.

**Whew, two chapters in one day! Next ones will be Cyan, with what I consider a rather innovative Onion concept. **


	3. Chapter 3: Cyan

Chapter 3: Cyan 

Olimar shivered in the cold. He had taken the ship to a far northern area of the Distant Planet in search of treasure. Louie was still in the ship, claiming that he had a headache; Olimar didn't believe him. Still, he didn't blame Louie for wanting to stay out of the icy wasteland he was now in the middle of; even the Pikmin looked cold.

But he didn't notice the cold anymore. He'd just found something incredible: a Cyan Onion.

Upon being activated, the dull silvery Onion had lit up and turned a bright cyan color. The odd thing about this one Onion was...it was sitting over water! The three legs of the Onion were sitting on a thin ring of ice, while the chamber at the core of the Onion sat above a frigid pool of water that appeared to go down for miles. Oddly, the Onion sat inside an ice cave; how would it fly out?

The Onion spat out a single seed, as Olimar expected. A sprout popped up, and Olimar pulled it out.

The cyan Pikmin looked rather unusual. Its eyes were a bit smaller than normal Pikmin, possibly to shield it from glare off the ice. Its leaf was tipped with bluish frost, and it appeared to have claws on its feet.

Olimar began to build up the population of the Onion. Before long he had twenty cyan Pikmin; he also had some blues in case he encountered water; purples in case he had a need to take out an enemy quickly; and a couple oranges in case demolitions were in order. Olimar was surprised to see that while most new kinds of Pikmin quickly integrated and became part of the main group, the Cyan Pikmin seemed to keep to themselves and avoid the others. Perhaps they held themselves as better, or maybe they were just unused to any other colors of Pikmin...

Olimar began to learn what the Pikmin could do. The main ability of these Pikmin involved ice. Throughout this wasteland were certain patches of slippery ice which made Pikmin slip. If this happened, they would start to freak out and not listen to Olimar's directions; they would just keep moving in a straight line until they finally reached the edge of the ice. But cyan Pikmin simply kept on walking. Those claws also made them slightly more effective in battle.

Eventually Olimar noticed that evening was turning to night, and he whistled a signal for the Pikmin to head back to their Onions (or, in the case of purple, white, and orange Pikmin, to the ship). Out of curiosity, however, he ran after the cyans. He wanted to see how their Onion would take off from inside the ice cave.

He caught up just as the Onion was closing...and what he saw took his breath away.

The Onion's legs folded up on themselves, but unlike most Onions, they folded upwards and joined to the center of the propeller. Then the Onion dropped into the pool. The propeller began to spin, pushing it farther down into the sea like a submarine submerging.

Olimar wasn't worried. He knew he'd see them again. After all, they were all in it together.

* * *

Most people visualize cyan Pikmin as having a natural immunity to ice. They are correct, but they generally think of it the wrong way. They visualize these Pikmin as being a repeat of whites, able to walk through icy vapors that harm normal Pikmin. This is incorrect. Cyans are immune to ice, but in a different way.

Throughout the world are various frozen pools, which are places of very slippery ice. If a Pikmin walks onto one of these pools, the Pikmin become unable to listen to orders and keep going in the way they are going. If they are trying to carry a bomb-rock, a treasure, or anything else, they will drop it on the ice when they start skidding. However, cyan Pikmin have claws on their feet to navigate across ice.

The ice have two other notable unique characteristics. First, they are antisocial, tending to stay with other Cyans. This means that unlike other Pikmin, who will rescue other colors in danger from their element, cyans will not help any Pikmin who slip on ice. Secondly, the Cyan Onion does not take off at night; instead, it descends into the deep ocean to follow Olimar's ship using a series of underwater rivers.

* * *

Fun Facts:

- This entire chapter was written while listening to the ten-hour version of Toby Turner's "Dramatic Song". I suddenly wish I had a foreign grandma.

- The design for the Cyan Onion went through three iterations. The first was a normal Onion but located in a cave; it would freeze itself at night so enemies could not enter. I scrapped this when I realized this Onion couldn't follow Olimar and the ship. The second Onion also dropped into the water, but it was upside down with the propeller on the underside. The third iteration was the one I showed you.

- The line "they were all in it together" is a reference to _World of Goo_. Best. Indie. Game. Ever. (Besides _Minecraft_, obviously.)

- I originally planned for the cyan Pikmin to have small gills (like the blue Pikmin, but about half the size) and explain it by saying they had evolved for safety in case of a leak in the Onion while underwater. I soon realized this was too much work for an irrelevant bit of trivia and scrapped the concept.

- In warmer regions, the ice pools would be created by spilled containers of liquid nitrogen or something. I don't know, make what you will of that.

**A/N: So yeah, you probably hate me right now since you realize I have the potential to write and publish three chapters in a day and yet I make you wait six months for chapters of CQ. That's the power of procrastination; for more details, watch the last few minutes of _The Lazer Collection 2_. Anyway, gotta go; the brown Pikmin are up next! **


	4. Chapter 4: Brown

Chapter 4: Brown 

Olimar stared in amazement at the Onion right in front of him. It was quite unlike any he had ever seen. Firstly, the Onion was in a cave deep underground (the Hall of Mirrors to be exact). Instead of a propeller it had a kind of drill both on top and below its central chamber; based on experiences with the Cyan Onion, Olimar assumed that this one would most likely burrow into the dirt when night came. Also, the Onion had no legs, and sat on the ground; instead, the large central chamber was surrounded by three spiraling roots of a strange wooden material.

But there was no mistaking it. This was definitely the Brown Onion.

Olimar looked cautiously down at the sprout that was sprouting from the ground at his feet. It was very strange; it had no flower, no bud, not even a leaf. For a second he was hesitant about pulling it; then he decided he was being silly. All Pikmin were worth recording and allying with.

He pulled up the first brown Pikmin.

Thankfully, there was nothing tremendously odd about the Pikmin. It examined the room with its milky white eyes and Olimar suspected it couldn't see very well. Instead of a stem on top of its head, the brown Pikmin had a single root. It also seemed to have a small mouth with dual rows of tiny teeth. Rather strange, but definitely a Pikmin.

The ship's computer beeped in Olimar's helmet. "This is most intriguing," it said, examining the Pikmin. "It seems this Pikmin is unable to see very well. How will it find food for itself and its Onion? I suppose that mouth makes it quite a good hunter, though..."

Olimar nodded in agreement. He then used the nearby Brown Pellets to spawn about fifteen brown Pikmin. Then he and the rest of his group of Pikmin set off with their new friends in tow.

It wasn't long before they hit an unforeseen obstacle: a large wooden wall blocked their path. The Pikmin appeared to be unable to damage it; the purples couldn't smash it, the greens couldn't climb it, and even the oranges' bomb-rocks were unable to penetrate the wood.

The ship beeped. "This is most frustrating!" it said in a very annoyed voice. "Any one of those attacks should have destroyed this wall! I do not feel that we will be able to get any farther into the dungeon with this obstinate barrier here in the path."

Olimar glumly agreed. He was about to turn to leave... when he noticed that the browns had lunged at the wall. He looked at them in confusion. His confusion turned to shock as he saw that the wall was rapidly collapsing.

The computer was amazed. "This does not compute!" it exclaimed. "How are they doing this? I will run scans..."

After a moment the computer's voice returned, rather shaken.

"I think those new Pikmin are eating the wall!"

* * *

Brown Pikmin are highly unusual in appearance. First, they do not have the usual maturity stages of leaf, bud, and flower; rather, all browns have a large root on their heads in place of a stem, regardless of maturity. This makes them as fast as a normal bud Pikmin. These Pikmin are also unique in that they have mouths; these mouths are also filled with very sharp teeth.

These teeth serve dual purposes. For one thing, brown Pikmin are highly powerful in battle; they do more damage than reds or oranges, and almost as much as purples. These teeth also allow them to devour wooden obstacles. This can be used both as an attack (some enemies, including bosses, have hard wood-like exterior shells) and to progress (brown Pikmin can devour wooden walls which block your path).

The brown Pikmin also have a highly unusual Onion. The Brown Onion is located deep underground and doesn't lift into the atmosphere at night. Instead, the brown Pikmin return to the Onion through the large wooden roots, which draw themselves into the earth afterwards. The Onion then burrows into the depths of the Distant Planet, keeping track of Olimar's ship using sonar.

* * *

Fun Facts:

- Brown Pikmin were originally going to be able to dig in the earth to find buried treasures. This was rejected when I watched a _Pikmin 2_ LP (Chuggaaconroy's if you have to know) and I realized that whites already have this power.

- The design for the Brown Onion is loosely based on Deadly Raptor's concept of a Black Onion, except his Black Onion didn't move around and was instead region-specific.

- This chapter was written while listening to a loop of "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny." Because it makes me happy.

- Brown Pikmin have poor pathfinding because they are partially blind. Just thought I'd throw that in there.

- I realize that this kind of concept has been (or, rather, will be) canonized through the Rock Pikmin. Dang. Oh well, it's a Nintendo Game. They're not exactly above having two almost identically functioning helpers/items. Look at the Fire Flower and Ice Flower, for example. Or the zillion types of Goombas.

**Holy excuse cancellation, Batman! I just came out with four chapters in one day! THIS IS THE POWER OF THE RUNAWAY GUYS! Also, I was motivated by ObsessiveReader1223. You should all go read her stories. Just sayin'. **

**Anyway...Black Pikmin next. Yeaaaaaah. That'll...probably be out soon. Um...bye? **


	5. Chapter 5: Black

Chapter 5: Black 

The Pikmin had found something. Olimar could hear a series of excited cries as the Pikmin carried something back to the Onion. He came around the corner to see why all the Pikmin were so excited.

Each of the five Pikmin who had been sent out on the scouting party was carrying a large black berry. It looked a bit like the berries used in the Ultra-Bitter and Ultra-Spicy Sprays, but they were a very dark shade of blue. As Olimar watched, the Pikmin brought the berries back to base camp. But instead of taking the berries up to the ship, they split up and took the berries to their own respective Onions.

And then something strange happened. The Onion spit out seeds as usual, one for each berry. But when the sprouts came up, they weren't red, blue, yellow, or green.

They were all black.

Olimar cautiously walked over to one of these Pikmin. He reached out to it and gave it a quick tug, unearthing the creature below it: a black Pikmin.

The black Pikmin was fairly standard as far as Olimar could tell. Its eyes, rather than being the normal black, were bright yellow, which gave it a rather strange effect. On top of its stem, perched atop its leaf, was a strange ball like the top of an insect's antenna, except it seemed to be giving off a gentle yellow light.

The ship's sensors instantly went crazy. "Incredible!" exclaimed the computer. "It seems that these berries hold a rare enzyme which can alter the seeds manufactured by an Onion! It would appear that there is some kind of historical and evolutionary connection between these berries and the Pikmin; it is most intriguing! We should try to find out how the Pikmin obtained the berries!"

Olimar soon found a large plant which resembled the usual berry plants. The Pikmin carried back berries, making more and more black Pikmin. They then set out to continue the day's work: exploring the new and unknown area of the Awakening Wood. At first everything was normal, and the black Pikmin just hung back...until something happened to change all that.

The Pikmin had found an overhang which blocked out all light from the sun. The Pikmin, who had a rational long-bred fear of the dark (which often signaled the end of day), refused to enter the dark place.

That is, they refused to enter until a yellow light began to light up the darkness...

* * *

I bet you were expecting black Pikmin to be scared of light, weren't you? Well, close but no cigar.

The black Pikmin are spawned when the Pikmin give an Onion of any color a Darkfruit Berry, which resembles a normal kind of berry. The black Pikmin themselves appear like normal Pikmin at first except for one thing: a glowing ball on top of their leaf. They lose this as they mature; these balls are replaced by a luminous yellow flower.

Pikmin, who have long associated darkness with night and night with certain death, turn out to be afraid of highly dark locations. This applies to all except the black Pikmin, who produce a natural light both from their antenna-leaf or flower and from their glowing yellow eyes. But wait: that's not all they do! When black Pikmin enter a dark space, the brightness they produce allows OTHER Pikmin to cross in safety! They're quite useful Pikmin!

Fun Facts:

- The song this time around: "Harry Potter Friday Parody" by JckSparrow. Dobby Chihuahua FTW.

- This black Pikmin concept was specifically designed to be the opposite of Deadly Raptor's concept. I just think that a black Pikmin shouldn't have to be afraid of sunlight.

- The glowing yellow eyes on a black Pikmin are based off the Bomb Boo from _Super Mario Galaxy_. Once again, I am giving credit to Chuggaaconroy for having an SMB LP for me to watch.

- By the time I finish this, I have been writing this story for approximately three hours in the course of a day. Yeah, you guys are gonna flame me for making you wait on CQ.

**A/N: Five...chapters...one...day...*urk* I am error! Press any key to restart! System not found, insert install disk. Disk not found, please confirm disk cover is closed. Read error. Insert boot disk and press enter. No response. System may be busy or melting into slag. Application error. Save your work and quit. You lost everything, way to go genius! Waiting for processors. 404 computer hampsters not found. Threat level upgraded to Jelly Roll 1, detonation imminent... **

**CTRL ALT DEL! *passes out* **


	6. Chapter 6: Silver

Chapter 6: Silver 

**A/N: Yes, after all this time, I return! I know, I haven't updated anything in ages, but I have been having some personal crises recently and I have been SO busy that I've barely had time to write at all, let alone update. Plus I've been waiting for the results of the contest for _Calvin's Quest_ and _Herobrine and the Ancient Ones_. Anyway, I've sort of had writers block about what other Pikmin I could do, and I was stuck until yesterday when I had an epiphany (it's a lot less painful than _The Simpsons Movie_ made it look). **

**Anyway, this is the result. Again, once I got down to it I wrote this in about thirty minutes. Sorry to keep you waiting, but at least I update faster than the guy who makes _Freeman's Mind_...sometimes. **

**Anyway, I don't own Pikmin. I think that's obvious. Now, ON TO THE STORY!**

* * *

Olimar whistled, calling the Pikmin into the Onion. He still had a couple minutes before the sun went down and the Onions and ship would have to take off, but ever since that incident where he had almost left a full 98 blues behind, he didn't like taking chances.

Suddenly he happened to notice something. At first he was sure his eyes were playing tricks on him, but there was no mistake. As he watched in astonishment, an object came flying out of the sky and slowly came in to land about half a hoca away, near the far edge of the Sky Terrace (a treetop area where Olimar had been searching for treasure). At first he thought it was some kind of spaceship, but the truth was even more astonishing.

An Onion was coming in to land.

It was a strange silvery color, as if it was made out of metal. But Olimar couldn't focus on the color, even though it seemed to be a new type of Onion entirely. What possible reason could there be for an Onion to land right when night was about to fall? He could only assume that the Onion was somehow damaged. Should he go make sure it was alright? There was plenty of room in the ship; he could take all the new Pikmin up into orbit with him.

He decided to attempt it. He still had a couple minutes until sunset; he had plenty of time to make it to this Onion and back. Besides, he couldn't leave behind a whole Onion that might be in trouble. And so he set off in the direction it seemed to be heading.

When he arrived, what he found was more mystifying still. The Onion didn't appear damaged in any way. In fact, it seemed to be a perfectly normal Onion, except its "legs" were gold instead of grey. The silvery dome appeared more metallic than ever up close; it was so reflective it seemed to glow in the light of the stars that were slowly appearing in the sky. There was no sign of damage to the Onion; in fact, it seemed to have made a perfect landing.

Suddenly Pikmin began to swarm out of the Onion, as if to get a look at Olimar. They were the same metal-silver color as the Onion, with huge bright blue eyes watching the captain. They had two leaves, like Green Pikmin, but rather than both being on top of their stem, one stuck out to each side of their face. They seemed curious and not at all scared of the oncoming night.

The ship, which had been watching the whole series of events through Olimar's helmet, began beeping insanely. "I cannot believe what we are witnessing!" it exclaimed. "Do these Pikmin not realize that the night is coming? Why has their Onion landed?"

Suddenly it beeped in alarm. "The Onions are heading into the upper atmosphere!" it exclaimed. "Olimar, we will have to lift off with them!"

Suddenly a Wollywog leapt into the clearing. Without hesitating, Olimar seized some of these new Silver Pikmin and hurled them at the Wollywog. He expected them to do a little damage and then scatter. Instead, to his amazement, the Pikmin destroyed the Wollywog in a matter of seconds. They grabbed its body and carried it back to their Onion.

Olimar stared at the Silver Pikmin in awe. The sun had almost entirely disappeared, but still the Onion and Pikmin shone with reflected starlight. They peered quite cheerfully into the darkness, not seeming phased by the darkness. All other kinds of Pikmin were so scared of night that they did not even like to go in dark places...all except Black Pikmin, which gave off their own light. But these Pikmin...

Slowly Olimar examined one of the Silver Pikmin. Its dual leaves...the wide eyes that made use of the sparse light of the stars and moon...that carefree appearance in the face of the oncoming night...it was all slowly coming together in Olimar's mind. Slowly he whispered two words he'd never though he would say, words that seemed to contradict all he had learned about the Distant Planet.

"...nocturnal Pikmin."

The ship seemed to understand. When it spoke, it was in a subdued, almost awed tone.

"We're not going into orbit tonight, are we?" it asked.

"No," said Olimar, feeling rather lightheaded. "We are most definitely staying the night."

* * *

Silver Pikmin look strange to begin with. Instead of a single leaf on top of their head, they have one on each side; they have silvery metallic-looking skin; and they have wide pale blue eyes. However, there is one unique feature which sets them apart from almost every other Pikmin species that has ever existed: they are nocturnal.

The Silver Onion follows an exactly opposite cycle to that of other species: it lands in the evening as night is just coming on, and it takes off just before sunrise. The strange features of the Silver Pikmin are therefore explicable: their two leaves are used for echolocation; their silver skin is so shiny it reflects all light, making them more visible to each other; and their wide eyes gather the faint starlight and the light reflected off each other and their Onion.

In addition, Silver Pikmin are excellent fighters: their hands have sharp claws made of a metallic substance that is excellent for killing anything from Bulborbs to Wollywogs. They have evolved this feature as a result of being exposed to the hectic chaos of night on the Distant Planet. They are also the only Pikmin willing to set foot on the surface after sunset, and will leave when dawn approaches.

* * *

Fun Facts:

- This concept is based off of my idea for _Pikmin 3_, which I feel free to think about because Nintendo seems to have forgotten about the real one. Basically, after a few nights you would gain the ability to select "Stay on the Planet" at the End of Day. All the Onions would go off into the sky, so the only kind of Pikmin you have is Silvers.

- Each hit from a Silver Pikmin does five times as much damage as a purple. This isn't overpowered because the night is basically a total melee with enemies every five feet, plus there are some enemies that just can't be killed (Water Wraith-style, but not as mean).

- A "hoca" is the Hocatate equivalent of a mile. So a hoca is to Olimar what a mile is to us. So it's probably about a hundred yards.

**A/N: I must say, I'm pleased with how this one turned out. I really like the idea of nocturnal Pikmin because it really emphasizes how when Pikmin work together they can overcome anything, even the perils of night. This will probably be the only type of Pikmin you can have at night, but if you want more and post reviews asking for more night Pikmin, I am more than happy to do what you want. **

**R&R, and please don't hate me for keeping you waiting! **


	7. Chapter 7: Maroon

Chapter 7: Maroon

**A/N: I'm back, baby! That's right: after several months with no news, Golden Keyblade has returned, bearing a new PC and plenty of video game updates! First off, I am SO sorry I haven't written in ages; between having to change schools, a massive buildup of homework, the SAT and ACT tests, piano recitals, and a ton of laziness on top of everything else, I haven't really had time to do much writing. But now summer has started, E3 is now over, **_**Kingdom Hearts III**_** has been announced, and we have plenty more announcements for **_**Pikmin 3**_**! **

** On that note, I have some more ideas for this story; with the announcement of Winged Pikmin and evident departure from naming Pikmin after colors, I'm free to name Pikmin more or less whatever I want and come up with whatever design I feel like. I have about two more color ideas, and then I'll move on to "type" Pikmin like Rock or Winged. But what am I doing still talking? **

The ship descended slowly into the Remote Glade, an extremely distant area of the planet. Louie had explored the area with Silver Pikmin the previous night; now Olimar and the other Pikmin would be exploring the new region in the day. He had made a little progress here yesterday, and now he planned to continue exploring. Around him he could see the Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green Onions descending with him and the Silver Onion ascending past him, its cargo of valiant Silver Pikmin ready to sleep until the next night.

The ship landed. Louie, who had stayed behind to watch the Silver Pikmin, climbed onto the ship to take his nap. A few seconds later, the Brown Onion burrowed out of the ground and the Cyan Onion emerged from a small pool of water nearby. As Louie took his seat, Olimar climbed to the ground and began to explore the area.

He and his Pikmin soon came to a frozen pool Louie had been unable clear up without Cyan Pikmin; a pipe full of liquid nitrogen had apparently exploded at some point in recent history, causing the icy liquid to spill out and freeze this nearby pool of water. Olimar's Pikmin crossed the icy patch and destroyed the patch; this caused the ice to melt, so Olimar got the Cyans safely to the other side and then led the Blues through the pool.

And then he saw it: a Ruby Candypop Bud.

Its petals were a darker red than the normal Crimson flowers, so it wasn't for Red Pikmin. Olimar considered for a minute: it was always possible that this new Pikmin could not cross back over the pool, but he had a duty to attempt to catalogue all types of life on the Distant Planet, including every type of Pikmin. Olimar cautiously tossed one of the Blue Pikmin into the bud. A seed popped out, landed in the dirt, and sprouted a leaf. Olimar reached down, pulled out the stem...

...and came face to face with a Maroon Pikmin.

It didn't look particularly exceptional; it was just sort of a dark red Pikmin with a green leaf and blue eyes. It had one unique feature: its eyes were just a bit smaller than the other Pikmin's, and were white instead of black or blue. It gave Olimar a curious look, then seemed to lose interest in him and wandered off.

The ship beeped. "Incredible!" it stated. "This Pikmin seems to be a dark shade of red! We should-"

Olimar muted the ship's helmet; he knew from harsh experience that the ship would have nothing useful to say. He gave a quick whistle, and all the Blue and Cyan Pikmin immediately sprang to attention. Strangely, though, the new Maroon Pikmin appeared to ignore the summons. Olimar whistled again, and the new Pikmin seemed to take notice, taking is place among its brethren. Olimar nodded and took another look around; there was a path over the rocks which would allow him and his Pikmin to cross back over to the main area.

As Olimar led the Pikmin around, he noticed that the Maroon Pikmin was behaving oddly. When he called all the Pikmin together he sometimes had to whistle a few times to get its attention, and it seemed to have a habit of wandering into water, fire, poison, or mud. It also didn't seem to be at all interested in treasure or battle; it would certainly fight or carry objects if prompted (usually a couple times), but if it was left alone, it would sort of wander off aimlessly.

Olimar was frustrated by this behavior. By afternoon he was fed up. He sighed and clicked the ship's radio back on. "Alright," he said. "What's going on with this Maroon Pikmin?"

"Finally!" exclaimed the ship, sounding testy. "First of all, it was extremely dangerous- not to mention **incredibly** rude- of you to turn off your radio in the middle of the day! If there was an emergency you would not be able to get any sort of warning-"

Olimar rolled his eyes. "Just tell me what's weird with this Pikmin or I'm hanging up again," he said.

"Fine," muttered the ship. "This Pikmin seems to have impairment of its senses. Judging by its white eyes, it is at least partially blind; it certainly has vision trouble. Judging by its infrequent response to the whistle, it also has limited hearing; and based on the fact that it keeps wandering into hazards, it isn't very intelligent."

"So what's it good for?" asked Olimar in confusion.

"I'm not sure yet," said the ship; if it had had a head or hands, it would have scratched its forehead. "It appears to have an unusual molecular composition, but it doesn't seem to have any beneficial effects. I'll keep searching."

Ironically, it was Olimar who discovered the power of the Maroon Pikmin. He had engaged in battle with a deadly Orange Bulborb, and he was not doing well. The Bulborb charged and Olimar whistled. The Pikmin all moved out of the way...except for the Maroon one, who simply stood and gazed off into space as the Orange Bulborb leapt forwards and swallowed it whole.

Olimar and his Pikmin rapidly began to retreat...when the sound of an explosion sounded from behind them. With a stunned look on his face, Olimar saw the smoking corpse of the Orange Bulborb hit the ground, the blast apparently having come from inside it.

For once, not even the ship had anything to say.

* * *

Maroon Pikmin are nothing special to look at: the only thing interesting about their design is that their eyes are just slightly larger than normal, and are white instead of black. Maroon Pikmin also have weaker senses than other species: they are partially blind; they cannot hear very well, and are often unable to hear the whistle, prompting you to call them again; and they are not very intelligent, meaning their AI is not as good as other Pikmin's (and that's saying something).

So what are Maroon Pikmin good for? Well, there are two benefits to them. First, along with near blindness and a couple of bad ears, Maroon Pikmin have virtually no sense of smell. This means that these Pikmin are not affected by enemies that use foul smells to cause Pikmin to scatter, like the Burrowing Skunkbear or Peach Bulborb. This means if a treasure is hidden on the other side of a minefield of these enemies, Maroons are definitely the way to go.

The other advantage of Maroon Pikmin: they are, in a way, living bomb-rocks. When a Maroon Pikmin dies, they do not turn into a ghost; instead, their bodies explode. If the Maroon Pikmin was eaten by an enemy, only the creature it was swallowed by will be affected. However, if it dies from any external threat, like crushing, fire, or drowning, watch out: the blast will travel outwards, and might well kill your own Pikmin in the process!

Fun Facts:

- Maroon Pikmin were originally going to have some kind of earth ability, but I gave up on that in favor of something else.

- I had planned to give a stench immunity its own Pikmin, but I decided that since it's basically a copy of poison but is not lethal, it could be grouped with another Pikmin that did not have much interesting about it.

- I wrote this chapter listening to an audiobook this time: Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol". The book is great, but I'm not sure whether Brown's grasp of history or quantum physics is more appalling.

**Well, there you have it! Another chapter done! Oh, and if you're wondering about what I'm going to do about Alph, Brittany, and Charlie, I'm going to keep using Olimar and Louie until _Pikmin 3_ comes out, then I'll switch over to them. **

**R&R!**


End file.
